I'd like to start this chapters blog post with a word of caution. As I read through this chapter several times, I couldn't help feeling that the most important part is at the end of the chapter! Step back to Chapter 12 with me for a moment .....
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. Matthew 22: 37 - 38
So ~ according to that verse, our first emotional connection of attention should be directed at who? God. Our second stage of emotional connection of attraction should be directed at who? God.
Did God create us with emotions? Sure He did. We have to make a choice what we are going to do with them. It would be easy at this point to say ~ well, God created me with these emotions so I can just go with them wherever they take me. The beginning of this chapter would have me believe that I can notice a cute guy {no matter who he is ~ even someone else's husband} and it's okay ~ no different than admiring a fine art painting at the art museum. Hmmmmm ..... personally I don't think so. That's a slippery slope because if I'm admiring him enough to know he's cute, what else am I doing .... how far is my mind going to be allowed to go in that admiration ~~ remember ladies, we are supposed to be bouncing our thoughts. The longer I allow myself to entertain those thoughts, the harder it is to stop.
Yes, the desire for love, attention, affection and relational connection is part of the human condition (pg 142), but that desire needs to be directed to God first.
Now, I can hear some of you saying .... Ms. Becky ~ if I don't pay ANY attention to the guys around me, how will I EVER find a husband?? Trust me on this one ~ if God has a husband for you, you won't be able to NOT find him. If your focus is on God first, you're going to be in tune with His path for your life which puts you and that husband He has for you on an unstoppable collision course. THAT is a collision you don't want to miss!
“The Buried Box” taken from Boy Meets Girl
by Joshua Harris
This spot will do, Rich thought sadly. He peered over his shoulder into the darkness to make sure no one was watching, then raised his shovel and drove it into the earth.
Clang! The sound of steel hitting rock rang out in the stillness of the night. He dropped to the ground. He was worried his ex-girlfriend's father might hear him. What kind of explanation could he give for digging a hole in their front yard at 3 a.m.? After 2 hours, he wiped a tear from his eye and walked away.
Four years before digging this hole, Rich had met Christy at church. They were fourteen and immature .... well, Rich was. It wasn't until their senior year in high school that Christy would fall in love with Rich. Their relationship grew as they daily wrote lettesr to each other, pouring out their hearts. Over time, their pure love began to turn into a romantic relationship not focused on God. They came to a point when they realized that their relationship was not headed in the right direction and they needed to return to being friends again.
This seemed to work at first, but whenever Christy would open her box of letters she had saved from Rich, she found herself jumping back into a relationship with Rich that she knew wasn't right. Looking out for Christy, Rich took her box of letters. he told her that he wanted to make sure they could focus on being friends again.
It was that box that Rich secretively buried in her front yard. He hoped that one day the box would be opened again, but he trusted that wherever God lead them would be best. What he knew for sure was that God wanted them to take time and begin over as friends.
Well, Rich and Christy went away to different colleges. From time to time they would talk, but their busy schedules kept them apart. Eventually, they would begin to talk again. This time, they were friends. Although they had a deep love for each other, they weren't jumping into a physical, romantic relationship.
After a year of friendship, they felt they were ready to seriously date again. They spent Christmas of their senior year at Christy's house. The final gift was an unusual one from Rich to Christy. As she opened the gift she saw it was a baby tree. "Why don't you plant it in the front yard?", her father said. Rich and Christy's family went out into the front yard and Christy began to dig a small hole for her tree.
Clank! Christy hit something while digging. As she dug further, she noticed the box that once held all her love letters. With excitement, knowing what was in the box, she opened it quickly. As she opened the first letter, she realized it wasn't a letter she had ever read before.
You see, Rich knew that if those letters were ever dug up again, it would be because they had done their relationship the right way - a way pleasing to God. Knowing that, before he buried the box, he placed a new letter on the top .... one that read, "Will You Marry Me?"
